Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2011 February 13

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February 13

Translation of a long Latin sepulchral inscription

Sepulchral inscription of Allia Potestas

Latin-speaking editors looking for a challenge may want to help complete the English translation of the sepulchral inscription of Allia Potestas at "File:Sepulchral inscription of Allia Potestas (1st–4th century CE) - 200505.jpg". Thanks. — Cheers, JackLee ^–talk– 07:01, 13 February 2011 (UTC)

There's an English translation here. ---Sluzzelin talk 07:51, 13 February 2011 (UTC)

I guess we can link to it, but obviously it can't be reproduced in the Wikimedia Commons wholesale for copyright reasons. I guess if someone would like to practise their Latin translation skills, we could still do with one on the file description page. — Cheers, JackLee ^–talk– 10:06, 13 February 2011 (UTC)

It might take awhile to get through this, we are used to shorter phrases and sentences on the Reference Desk! But I guess we can use that other translation as a guide, so that helps. By the way, it's interesting that the inscription seems to be in rustic capitals, rather than the usual square capitals. Adam Bishop (talk) 13:14, 13 February 2011 (UTC)

what is the high-falutin' version (meaning) of the word "precious"?

high-falutin' people use "precious" differently from the rest of us. case in point:

“ In 2007, Freeman started paying close attention to the swan-neck kettles used for filter coffee. The narrow spout produces a thin, precise stream, and the handle brings your hand into a naturally balanced position — instead of flooding the filter and letting it drip, you deliver a measured amount of water over a period of several minutes. It might sound precious or tedious, but the control is enthralling. ”

what does that mean? 109.128.173.201 (talk) 11:40, 13 February 2011 (UTC)

See wikt:precious, the adjectival sense, definitions 3 and 4:

3. (pejorative) treated with too much reverence.

   * He spent hours painting the eyes of the portrait, which his fellow artists regarded as a bit precious.

4. (pejorative) contrived to be cute or charming

--Trovatore (talk) 12:00, 13 February 2011 (UTC)

"Precious" has the same root as "price",[1] and EO states that what one might call the "satirical" use of it dates back many centuries. You can almost always tell by context. I would also think of that usage as similar to the way Dana Carvey's "Church Lady" character used to say, "Isn't that special", in reference to something that wasn't. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 12:10, 13 February 2011 (UTC)

Dennis Miller recently noted that Glenn Beck was a bit precious for his taste. Per above meaning - contrived to be cute or charming - seems to fit. -- Uzma Gamal (talk) 14:14, 14 February 2011 (UTC)

That usage is similar to wikt:twee. Corvus cornix_talk 07:02, 14 February 2011 (UTC)

Arabic: Habibi / habibti

Is it correct that habibi is only for reference to males, and in Arabic is never used for females (for the latter only habibti would be used)? Thank you.--68.175.35.188 (talk) 11:41, 13 February 2011 (UTC)

That's what the Habibi article seems to be saying. I can give you an equivalent in Spanish, where amigo is a male friend and amiga is a female friend. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 12:01, 13 February 2011 (UTC)

In literary Arabic (and classical) those are the correct male and female forms. The spoken varieties are not always so strict. I don't know if any have lost the masculine/feminine distinction entirely, but the song Nour el ain by Amr Diab, for example, is presumably about a woman, and he always says habibi (it is even an alternate name for the song). Adam Bishop (talk) 13:00, 13 February 2011 (UTC)

Think ħabibati is the correct feminine classical form (while ħabibti seems to show vernacular/dialect type vowel syncope)... AnonMoos (talk) 14:56, 13 February 2011 (UTC)

Latin sexual verb

Long ago, I read about a Latin verb that more or less means "to receive anal sex". Perhaps its meaning is more general than that - perhaps it means "to be fucked". But I don't think it was commonly applied to women. My recollection is that it was almost always used to characterize passive males, and was closely associated with gluteal undulations. (Hence, the verb could be applied in a secondary sense to someone who wasn't being screwed, but was merely gyrating or writhing in a particular "receptive" manner.) I recall that the term would sometimes be translated, rather inadequately, by the English verb "to grind". Can anyone tell me what this Latin verb was? Also: Did the word survive, in any form, in any of the daughter languages? LANTZY^TALK 15:52, 13 February 2011 (UTC)

Catullus 16 might have hints... AnonMoos (talk) 16:03, 13 February 2011 (UTC)

I was going to suggest the same thing, although "pedicare" is used for the penetrator there. There is a great book called "The Latin Sexual Vocabulary", which can be previewed on Google Books, which might have the answer. Adam Bishop (talk) 16:07, 13 February 2011 (UTC)

(edit conflict) A quick glance at J. N. Adams's The Latin Sexual Vocabulary suggests that ceueo may be the verb you have in mind, as it was used to refer to the motions of a male pathic (with criso being used to refer to the motions of the female in heterosexual intercourse). I'll pass on your other question. Deor (talk) 16:12, 13 February 2011 (UTC)

We also have a delightfully detailed article on Latin profanity - Cēveō does seem a close match to what you describe, both it an its female equivalent crisare are described as having been lost in all romance languages. ·Maunus·ƛ· 16:15, 13 February 2011 (UTC)

Yes, that's it! Ceveo. LANTZY^TALK 18:13, 13 February 2011 (UTC)

Translation of 巨蜂葡萄

This should be a type of grape, they are supposed to be expensive and really sweet. Does anyone know the English name? Eiad77 (talk) 22:01, 13 February 2011 (UTC)

My Google Translate popup says "Jufeng grape". --jpgordon^{::==( o )} 23:02, 13 February 2011 (UTC)

I think that's just the transliteration.Eiad77 (talk) 23:23, 13 February 2011 (UTC)

Perhaps, but it's what they seem to be called. See this USDA circular: Most of China’s grape production is made up of 12 different major varieties, Jufeng being the most popular. Also, Google "jufeng grape" and get past the first page of useless results; you'll see multiple use of the name in scientific articles such as "Effect of temperature control and high humidity on the preservation of JUFENG grapes". --jpgordon^{::==( o )} 01:19, 14 February 2011 (UTC)

It is also called Kyoho in English. --KägeTorä - (影虎) (TALK) 01:23, 14 February 2011 (UTC)

Thanks!Eiad77 (talk) 02:19, 14 February 2011 (UTC)

But that's just the Japanese transliteration as opposed to the Chinese right? --PalaceGuard008 (Talk) 18:56, 15 February 2011 (UTC)

It certainly is, but in English this particular type of grape is called 'Kyoho'. In the article it says they were first grown in Japan, so it would make sense to use the Japanese name and not a Chinese name. Incidentally, a Google image search of 'kyoho' gives a large number of images of grapes, while a Google image search of 'jufeng' does not. --KägeTorä - (影虎) (TALK) 19:36, 15 February 2011 (UTC)

Ok that makes sense. --PalaceGuard008 (Talk) 10:52, 16 February 2011 (UTC)

By the way, 巨蜂 means "giant bee". For the type of grape, it should be 巨峰 "giant peak". --Kusunose 05:55, 16 February 2011 (UTC)

Agree - I believe they are referred to as 巨峰葡萄 in Chinese as well. --PalaceGuard008 (Talk) 10:52, 16 February 2011 (UTC)

And that is what the Wikipedia article I linked to calls them. Sorry, oversight on my part here, I didn't notice the spelling difference in the title of this thread. --KägeTorä - (影虎) (TALK) 11:37, 16 February 2011 (UTC)